Mindy Pollak, was elected as a borough councillor in Outremont, Sunday night, becoming the first Hassidic Jewish woman to be elected to Montreal.
Mindy Pollak’s unlikely entry into politics began two years ago, when controversy erupted in her Outremont neighbourhood over plans to expand a synagogue.
Pollak, a 24-year-old Hasidic Jew, joined forces with Leila Marshy, a neighbour who is of Palestinian origin, to found Friends of Hutchison, which promotes dialogue between ultra-Orthodox Jews and francophones. She hoped to leverage that experience to win election to Outremont’s borough council.
The Projet Montréal candidate is among a new crop of contenders hoping Sunday’s election will mark a departure from Montreal’s longtime tradition of electing local councils dominated by white, mostly male francophones.
In Outremont, Pollak believes municipal politics offers an opportunity to heal the divisions between cultural groups.
“At the end of the day, we just want to live together in peace and harmony,” she said.
“If I have a chance to make a difference, I have to take it,” she added.
THE FOLLOWING IS FROM AN ELECTION WEBSITE:
Mindy Pollak is a Montreal native and a Hassidic Jew who strongly believes in good neighbourly relations between citizens. She chose to be a Projet Montréal candidate so she could have the chance to make a difference and bring a wind of change to the neighbourhood she loves so much.
She cofounded Friends of Hutchison, a neighbourhood association created when a referendum was held to block renovation plans for a synagogue on the street. Since then, Friends of Hutchison has participated in Les Journées des Bon Voisins (on St Viateur street) several times, and has hosted two public meetings with the goal of building bridges between communities in Outremont.
Since 2012, Ms. Pollak also sits on the Comité sur les relations intercommunautaires. The Comité studies and emits advice to the various players in the administration.
Realising that Projet Montreal is sincerely interested in bridging the wide gap between the Outremont council administration and the Hasidic community, she believes that the party can lead the way to a new sense of community and a revitalization of our neighbourhoods through its overall approach of consultation and transparency and by supporting citizen-led initiatives.
Ms. Pollak is also a volunteer for Chai Lifeline, which works with sick children and their families. She also works as an esthetician, with a mostly francophone clientele. Ms. Pollak also cohosts a food blog, called Ess Eat (ess is eat in Yiddish).
(Source: Montreal Gazette)
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7 Responses
I was in outremont its like grenich village lots of young artsy vegetarians very young posh and in the middle of that cultural Hors d’oeuvre is a chasseedik community with eltere shteibelach chillin right in the middle. Sort of move a tiny slice of Lee ave and put it in the middle of posh north Williamsburg.
I think they have a lot going for them would love to follow this story..
Congratulations!
Now we hopefully won’t hear as much from Pierre Lacerte (Hitler is a moderate compared to him).
Much good luck to her
Sounds like quite a woman and glad that her kehilla supported her. Quite sure that she would not have won that seat in Williamsburg.
Concerned that her ‘best gal friend’ is one of Palestinean origin and wonder how that will unfold??!!
Crack open any Halacha sefer. A woman’s place is at home, not in the public eye. Shulchan Aruch (73:1), Rambam (Hilchos Ishus 13:11).
1. This in a city that is famous for its corruption (most of its recent mayors left office due to pending criminal charges). The city is ripe for radical ideas.
2. Especially among hasidim, most women are probably better suited for politics than most men, since men concentrate on Limudei Kodesh and don’t developed the skills for working outside the community. Frum women often have better secular educations.
3. Remember that in Quebec, the division is between the “pure wool” of French colonial ancestry, versus everyone who came after 1759 – including all Jews (even those who speak French as a first language). The big political issue now is a plan to ban yarmulkes (among other things) as part of legislation targetting all religious minorities, and she might be an effective leader in opposing this. That this will involve alliance with other religious minorities could have major global impact.
4. In Brooklyn, male politicians have a bad image since everyone knows they are supporting the family and everyone assumes they cut corners in terms of ethics to do so. A woman raise less concerns.
5. None of the articles mention a husband, so it will be interesting what sort of shidduch she ends up with.
akuperma: It is almost unheard of for a 24 year old Chasidic woman to be unmarried. And that picture looks like a sheitel.